Tampa’s NoHo Flats apartments well underway

NoHo Flats, a 331-unit complex a few blocks of Vintage Lofts and behind a future Tampa General Hospital rehabilitation complex fronting Kennedy Boulevard, is expected by January. CLIFF MCBRIDE/STAFF

Published: May 31, 2013

NORTH HYDE PARK -

NoHo Flats, the newest apartment complex in a budding neighborhood north of Kennedy Boluevard, is leasing to renters. Some will be able to move in as soon as August.

Completion of the entire 331-unit complex is expected by January.

Pollack Shores Real Estate Group in October broke ground on the project at 305 N. Rome Ave. The apartments are within a few blocks of Vintage Lofts and behind a future Tampa General Hospital rehabilitation complex that will front Kennedy.

The company also will present plans to the Tampa City Council on June 20 for SoHo Flats, a 212-unit apartment complex that also would have space for two restaurants and a store. The project would combine multiple parcels, including the former site of nightclub owner Joe Redner’s Xtreme Total Health and Fitness at 936 S. Howard Ave., and Equipment Sales Corp. at 2101 W. Morrison Ave.

If the council approves a rezoning of the property, a ground-breaking ceremony for SoHo Flats would take place later this year with a completion date in late 2014, company representatives said.

NoHo is part of a burst of new development along Kennedy. In addition to Tampa General’s plans to build a rehabilitation center, the University of Tampa is completing construction of an 11-story residence hall. A new UT lacrosse stadium also opened recently.

The apartment complex on Rome was the first new development in nearly seven years in North Hyde Park.The property had been dormant since the opening of Vintage Lofts, which initially was envisioned as part of a major multi-phase apartment and retail complex.

The collapse of the real estate market halted construction of the larger project, and left it without a developer.Pollack Shores stepped in, reconfigured the property and opted to build apartments but no retail.

Though the larger project didn’t work out, the Vintage Lofts apartments have been successful. Among renters at Vintage Lofts are University of Tampa students, said Byron Moger, executive director for apartment brokerage services at Cushman & Wakefield.

The area also will appeal to Tampa General employees, he said.

“What’s happened since Vintage Lofts is downtown Tampa and Channelside have blossomed,” Moger said. “We’ve reached critical mass where there is an interest in living downtown that wasn’t there five years ago.”

NoHo is close to downtown and the South Howard Avenue retail and entertainment district. “They (renters) have got a great community and convenience but they’re not in the middle of it,” Moger said.

The NoHo complex will have seven three-story buildings, a linear park open to tenants and the public, and street-side landscaping with streetlights, sidewalks, trees and benches. There will be a parking lot as well as individual garages for some apartments.

On-site storage units, with vertical bicycle racks, will be available. Other amenities include a fountain courtyard with fire pits and outdoor seating, a swimming pool, a combination kitchen and bar, a shuffleboard table, an outdoor pet area, a club room and a fitness center.